French trains to remain disrupted Friday as some unions stay on strike UPDATE

French trains to remain disrupted Friday as some unions stay on strike UPDATE

	Published : Thu, 18 Oct 2007 18:27 By : Agencies Print this Story

(Adding comments from transport operators; recasts headline, lead)

PARIS (Thomson Financial) - France's rail network will continue to be heavily disrupted on Friday after certain unions decided to pursue the current 24-hour strike organised in protest at government plans to reform public-sector pension schemes.

Christian Mahieux of the SUD Rail union told Agence France-Presse that 95 pct of workers based at train stations in Paris, Marseilles and Lyons had voted in favour of prolonging today's strike.

In Paris, public transport workers have also voted in favour of pursuing the strike at the request of SUD and Unsa unions.

However, the extent of the disruption tomorrow is unclear since the unions themselves are divided, with the large CGT federation opposing a prolongation of the strike.

National rail operator SNCF said the network will remain 'heavily disrupted' tomorrow morning, with services steadily increasing during the rest of the day.

Paris public transport operator RATP said its services will also continue to be disrupted Friday, estimating that it will run a third of its normal timetable.

The current 24-hour stoppage, which runs until 8.00 pm this evening, has been widely followed by transport and energy workers.

French railway operator SNCF said 73.5 pct of staff were on strike by late morning, above the levels seen at the height of the massive public sector strikes of 1995.

RATP reported that 58 pct of its staff went out on strike, while utilities EDF and Gaz de France gave a figure of around 50 pct.

The unions are protesting the conservative government's plan to remove more favourable pension terms enjoyed by around 500,000 workers within the public sector.

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